Best Guide to Deploy Windows Server 2022 using SCCM
In this article, I will cover the steps to deploy Windows Server 2022 using SCCM (ConfigMgr). I recommend using ConfigMgr version 2017 and above to deploy the Windows Server 2022.
Windows Server 2022 is the latest server operating system released by Microsoft. It is built on the strong foundation of Windows Server 2019 and comes with lots of improvements and new features. Read what’s new in Windows Server 2022 to know more about Windows Server 2022, and its features.
To install Windows Server 2022 on a physical server or a VM, you must first download the Windows Server 2022 ISO. The ISO is available in both MSDN and VLSC and you can also download it from Microsoft Evaluation center.
If you want to manually install Windows Server 2022 on a machine, refer to my guide on download and install Windows Server 2022. Using a task sequence to deploy Windows Server 2022 using SCCM to multiple machines has more advantages. You can add applications, updates and customizations to your task sequence.
The Windows Server 2022 build details are as follows.
- Operating system build number -10.0.20348
- Full Operating system build number -10.0.20348.169
Refer to the following guide to create Windows Server 2022 device collection in Configuration Manager.
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
- You need a Windows Server 2022 ISO media, so download it from VLSC/MSDN/Eval center.
- I would recommend enabling PXE responder without WDS (Windows Deployment Service).
- Ensure the boot images are distributed to all the distribution points.
- Use Configuration Manager 2017 as Windows Server 2022 is supported.
Import Windows Server 2022 Operating System in SCCM
We will first import the Windows Server 2022 operating system in SCCM. Mount the Windows Server 2022 ISO. Copy all the files and paste the files in sources folder (create a separate folder). This will make it easy to import it into the SCCM.
In the SCCM console, click Software Library > Operating Systems. Right click Operating System Images and click Add Operating System Image.
On the Data Source window, click Browse and specify the data source by providing the path to install.wim file. The install.wim file is located under Sources folder of operating system media.
Windows Server 2022 comes in two editions.
- Standard – Desktop Experience and Core
- DataCenter – Desktop Experience and Core
- Server Core – This is the recommended installation option. It’s a smaller installation that includes the core components of Windows Server and supports all server roles but does not include a local graphical user interface (GUI). It is used for deployments which are managed remotely through Windows Admin Center, PowerShell, or other server management tools.
- Server with Desktop Experience – This is the complete installation and includes a full GUI. This option has a larger footprint than server core and most preferred by organizations.
I am going to deploy Windows Server 2022 Datacenter edition. Select Extract a specific image index from the specified WIM file. Choose the correct Image Index and click Next.
On the General window, you can enter name, version, and comment for the operating system image. You can actually do this later once you import the server 2022 OS into SCCM. For now, click Next.
Review the settings on Summary page and click Next.
On the Completion window, click Close.
The operating system images in SCCM console now shows Windows Server 2022 image. This completes the steps to import Server 2022 in Configuration Manager.
Create Task Sequence for Windows Server 2022
Use the following steps to create a new task sequence for Windows Server 2022.
- In the SCCM console, go to Software Library > Operating Systems > Task Sequences.
- Right click Task Sequences and click Create Task sequence.
- In the Create Task Sequence wizard, click Install an existing image package (Windows Server 2022) and click Next.
On the Task Sequence Information window, specify the task sequence name – Deploy Windows Server 2022. You can add task sequence description and select x64 boot image. Click Next.
Select the image package which is Windows Server 2022 that we imported in the above step. The image index will be picked up automatically as datacenter because we extracted specific index from WIM file.
Select partition and format target computer before installing the operating system. Uncheck Configure task sequence for use with BitLocker.
You may specify the product key for Windows Server 2022. For local admin password, there are two options.
- Randomly generate the local admin password and disable account on all supported platforms.
- Enable the account and specify the local admin password.
Both the options are self-explanatory. In this example, I am going to specify local administrator password. Click Next.
On Configure Network window, you have to select if the server will be part of workgroup or a domain. Mostly the Windows Servers will be part of domain, so select Join a domain.
Click Browse and select your domain. Next, click Browse and select Domain OU. Ensure you don’t select the default Computers OU. The domain join may fail sometimes, so it’s better to choose another OU. Specify the account that has permissions to join a computer to domain. Click Next.
On Install Configuration Manager client window, you may specify additional installation properties. Click Next.
Click Next on Configure State Migration screen.
You may want to include updates along with Windows Server 2022 installation. You can deploy the updates using the ADR’s later. So select Do not install any software updates and click Next.
On the Install Applications window, you can include the applications that you want to install along with Windows Server 2022. The applications must have been packaged in SCCM and ensure you allow them to be deployed via task sequence. Click the Yellow star icon to add applications.
In this example, I am not going to specify any applications, click Next.
Review the settings on Summary window and click Next.
On the Completion window, click Close. We have now created task sequence to deploy Windows Server 2022.
Distribute the Task Sequence to Distribution Points
This is a basic step where you ensure the task sequence content exists on distribution points. If the client cannot find the content on distribution point, you will see failed to run task sequence error.
In the SCCM console, right click Windows Server 2022 task sequence and select Distribute Content.
Specify the content destination which is nothing but your distribution points. You can also select distribution point groups (if you have created any) and click Next.
Close the distribute content wizard.
You need to ensure the content is distributed to distribution points. In the SCCM console, go to Monitoring\Overview\Distribution Status\Content Status and ensure all the content is distributed. After the task sequence content has been distributed to distribution points, you can deploy Windows Server 2022 using SCCM.
Deploy Windows Server 2022 using SCCM Task Sequence
Let’s look at the steps to deploy Windows Server 2022 using SCCM task sequence.
- In the SCCM console go to Software Library\Overview\Operating Systems\Task Sequences.
- Right click Windows Server 2022 task sequence and click Deploy.
On the General section of deploy software wizard, specify the information about the deployment. Click Browse and select the device collection to which you want to deploy Windows Server 2022. Click Next.
On the Deployment Settings window, select the Purpose as Available. For Make available to the following: click the drop-down and select Only Media and PXE. Click Next.
On the scheduling window, you can specify the schedule for the deployment. For example, you can specify the date and time when the deployment will become available and set a date and time for the deployment to expire. I will not schedule the deployment, click Next.
Click Next on User Experience window.
On the Alerts window, click Next.
Select Download content locally when needed by the running task sequence. Click Next.
Review the settings on Summary window. Click Next.
On the Completion window, click Close.
I have created a VM with no operating system installed. I am going to PXE boot this VM and let it load the boot image from the distribution point.
On the task sequence welcome page, if you have set a PXE password, enter it and click Next.
If you have multiple task sequences deployed, you will see all of them on this screen. Select Deploy Windows Server 2022 task sequence and click Next.
The task sequence execution begins. The wizard downloads the Server 2022 install.wim file.
The task sequence is now running setup windows and configuration manager step. The Configuration Manager client agent is being installed.
After few minutes, the operating system deployment should be over, and you should see a login screen. Login to Windows Server 2022 using domain account.
You can verify the Windows Server version, build number by running Winver command. This completes the steps to deploy Windows Server 2022 using SCCM tasks sequence.
